Ready For It?
by kgregs
Summary: **DISCONTINUED** Hannah McMahon is WWE's Director of Talent Relations and Vince McMahon's youngest daughter. Kenny Omega is the leader of Bullet Club and one of NJPW's biggest stars. And, despite their rival positions, they can't keep away from each other. Kenny Omega/OC/Seth Rollins. Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, The Shield, and more.
1. Author's Note

Hello, fellow pro wrestling fans! Welcome to my latest fic, "Ready For It?" (yes, the title is taken from the Taylor Swift album of the same name). This story falls within the universe as established by my previous WWE fic, "Steal the Show," and everything that happened in that story is "canon" in this one.

If you haven't read "Steal the Show," here's a very rudimentary overview. My OC, who is also the OC in this story, is Hannah McMahon, and (obviously) she's the youngest of the McMahon children. She works in the talent relations department, and she'd been determined to stay away from having any roles on TV until Vince convinced her to be the "mastermind" behind The Shield. It's a Dean Ambrose/OC fic, but Hannah has a complicated past/present with CM Punk that makes things... tense.

If you want to go read that fic before continuing on with this one, you certainly can - but it's not necessary to do so. Nothing that happens in this story is affected by that one, and this story isn't a "sequel." "Steal the Show" is simply a different part of Hannah's life/experiences than "Ready for It?"

As for those of you who have read "Steal the Show," you're well aware that it's unfinished. As of right now, I'm not saying that I'll never finish it - but it's most certainly on indefinite hiatus. And, at risk of upsetting a lot of you, I'll reveal this: it was never my intention to have "Steal the Show" wrap up with Jon and Hannah as a 100% established couple (I'll let you all make your own inferences as to why they don't work out). Furthermore, if I'm being perfectly honest, in my head I've actually shipped Hannah with Seth basically ever since The Shield broke up, which is probably why it's been so difficult for me to finish "Steal the Show."

As I've said before, Hannah is a character near and dear to my heart, and over the years I've developed quite a lot of headcanons about her. "Ready For It?" grew out of those headcanons. And with everything happening now between WWE/Bullet Club, I couldn't deny writing this any longer.

So again: Welcome! I hope all of you, whether you've read "Steal the Show" or not, enjoy this new fic, and thank you for your continued support.

\- Katie


	2. Those Damn Bullet Club Boys

_A/N: Well, here it is. I've never written anything quite like this before - the chapter is basically one giant flashback explaining what's gone one and setting up the story. I banged this out in less than 24 hours, so I hope you like it. As always, your reviews/thoughts would be much appreciated :)_

 _Disclaimer: I only own Hannah and my plot._

 **Chapter One**

 _September 15, 2017_  
 _Osaka, Japan_

"Fuck, I can't do this." Hannah ducked into an alleyway and leaned back against the cool of the brick wall, letting out a deep, shaky breath. This was an absolutely terrible idea and she never, ever should have let AJ talk her into it.

"Yes, you can." Hannah opened her eyes when she felt Nattie's hand gently grip her arm. She was looking at her the way a mother would a petrified child. "It's just dinner, Hannah, and AJ and I and a bunch of other people will be there. It's not a big deal."

A rueful laugh escaped Hannah's lips. Maybe to Nattie it wasn't a big deal, but to Hannah it was a huge, monumental deal. Because one of the "other people" who would be there was none other than Kenny Omega, and the last time Hannah had been in the same vicinity as him the wrestling world hadn't stopped talking about it for weeks.

Kenny had a huge crush on Hannah, and everyone knew it. He didn't at all shy away from talking about it; in fact, it was something of a running gag on "Being the Elite," the Young Bucks' YouTube series. That was actually how Hannah found out about it: enough people mentioned it to her on Twitter that she had to go watch the videos for herself. And, eventually, she responded.

The first time Hannah tweeted Kenny the fans absolutely lost it. Suddenly every pro wrestling blog and dirt sheet across the internet boasted headlines expounding upon what it could "mean": "Hannah McMahon Finally Responded to Kenny Omega and No One Can Handle It"; "Could Hannah McMahon Coax Kenny Omega to WWE?"; "Are WWE and NJPW In on The Hannah-Omega Saga?" But, in reality, it didn't "mean" anything. Hannah was just flattered by Kenny's persistence to get her attention and so she'd decided to throw him a bone. That was it.

But that sure as hell wasn't where it ended.

At the end of June, WWE's Raw roster had traveled to Japan for two shows in Tokyo. It wasn't necessary for Hannah to go, but she did; she'd studied abroad in Japan in college, and the country held a special place in her heart for it. And, despite that she hadn't interacted with Kenny in weeks, she was alerted to more than a dozen tweets speculating that she was meeting up with him before her plane's wheels could even hit the tarmac.

Of course, Hannah _had_ toyed with the thought of meeting up with Kenny. As much as she tried to outwardly deny it, she was attracted to him – and she'd had to stop herself on more than one occasion from sending him a direct message after having one too many late-night glasses of red wine. But that was all it had been: a deleted thought. At least, it was until Finn Balor got involved.

Hannah and Finn – or Fergal, as she knew him – were close. As fate would have it, she'd been in the crowd for one of his first matches in NJPW, and eight years later she was the one who brought him to NXT. But, more importantly, Fergal was close with Kenny – and he _loved_ taunting his former Bullet Club brother about his crush on Hannah.

"Hannah," Fergal had found her backstage not long after she'd arrived at Tokyo's Sumo Hall. "We're sending a picture to Kenny."

"What?" Hannah's eyes went wide as saucers. "No, we're not," she protested, but he didn't listen as he pulled her into his side. He held his phone up in front of them, the front-facing camera turned on.

"Too sweet me," he said.

Hannah glared at him through the phone screen. "Fergal, people have finally stopped wondering if we're fucking. Do you really want to stir all that up again just to get a rise out of Kenny?"

He didn't even pause to think about it. "Yes."

She scowled at him again; but, with a roll of her eyes, she made the "too sweet" symbol with her hand and touched her fingers to Fergal's. As nervous as it made her, sending the picture to Kenny actually was a pretty funny idea.

"Smile!" Fergal proclaimed, and Hannah put on her biggest and best shit-eating grin while he snapped a few photos.

"Are you gonna text it to him?" she asked as he checked over the pictures.

"No, I'm tweeting it to him," he replied. Hannah felt her stomach drop. If he put that photo on Twitter it would send the rumor mill into overdrive – and that was exactly what happened.

Mere minutes after Fergal tweeted the photo – boasting the simple caption, "Hi KennyOmegamanX" – Hannah's phone had erupted with mentions from fans and wrestlers alike. She only read a few of them before putting her phone on silent and banishing it to her purse. If someone wanted to talk to her, they'd just have to do it in person.

She'd completely avoided Twitter the rest of that day and tried desperately not to wonder how Kenny might have responded, if he had even responded at all. But avoiding the situation would soon become impossible.

After the show that night, Hannah reluctantly went out with Fergal, Seth Rollins, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson to have a few drinks. She hadn't wanted to go, but then Seth had given her that look—the one he knew she couldn't resist. And lately she'd been finding it harder and harder to resist Colby.

Colby and Hannah's relationship was, in a word, complicated. They'd been taking turns dancing around their feelings for each other ever since 2014, when Rollins had turned on The Shield and Hannah had been written into a storyline relationship with him. Up until that program, Hannah had never considered Colby anything more than a friend; but after a few weeks of kissing and canoodling on TV, suddenly she'd found herself thinking about her friend in ways she'd never imagined before. But Colby had been engaged at the time, and so Hannah had buried the fledgling feelings and done her best to ignore them.

But when it came to light that Colby had been cheating on his fiancée with some newcomer down in NXT, Hannah had been equal parts angry and jealous: angry that he'd done such a disgusting thing, and jealous that he'd done it with someone who wasn't even worth it. And it certainly didn't help that, as Director of Talent Relations, it was literally Hannah's job to do damage control after Colby's fiancée had hacked his Instagram account.

But, throughout all that, Hannah and Colby had remained an onscreen couple; and Hannah's real-life feelings had remained, too. And when Colby's relationship with the girl he'd cheated with unsurprisingly fell apart, suddenly he started acting like maybe those feelings were reciprocated.

But Hannah couldn't cross that line with Colby, no matter how badly she might want to. He'd cheated on every girlfriend he'd ever had, and Hannah refused to be just another notch in his belt. As she'd told Nattie and a few of the other girls, Colby was her best friend and she trusted him with her life; but she didn't think she could trust him with her heart.

Nevertheless, the feelings were still there, and she'd rather spend time out socializing with Colby than in her hotel room alone, so here she was.

"Goddamn, Hannah, you're gonna drink me under the table," Karl said as he watched her kick back another shot of sake. It was her third of the night, or maybe her fourth. She couldn't really remember.

"I told you, I studied abroad here in college," Hannah returned. "Sake's like water to me."

"Touché."

She turned to Colby, the sake still warm in her belly. Maybe it was the affect of the alcohol or the exotic locale, but he looked particularly irresistible tonight. "You tapping out already?" she asked, eyeing the shot sitting in front of him. "When'd you become such a lightweight?"

Colby didn't say anything in response. He just picked up the glass, sent Hannah a wink, and downed the sake. A shiver raced down Hannah's spine. She'd better get some water in her, or she'd be liable to do something she'd regret tonight.

But when she glanced around the bar looking for their waiter, the sight of three people coming through the front door instantly sobered her: Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega.

"Oh fuck." She clamped her hand over her mouth; she hadn't meant to say that out loud. But it was too late. Karl and Gallows had spotted them, too.

"Well look what the cat dragged in!" Gallows boomed. For a split second, Kenny and Hannah locked eyes; but then she glanced furiously at Fergal. She threw a balled up straw wrapper at his head to get his attention.

 _Did you do this?_ She angrily mouthed across the table. He just sent her the same sly grin he'd flashed for the picture earlier.

"Well this is just fucking fantastic," Colby muttered under his breath. Hannah tensed – she wasn't the only one who'd had newsworthy online interactions with Omega. Earlier that year, Kenny had taken to Twitter to accuse Colby of stealing one of his finishing moves, and they'd gone back and forth a bit until Kenny finally quipped, "That's fine, I'll just come steal your manager and bring her back to NJPW." Colby's manager was, of course, Hannah; and when Kenny arrived at the table, she didn't miss how Colby protectively shifted closer to her, his arm draped over the back of her chair, as if Kenny would try to steal her away right then and there.

Karl took it upon himself to make the introductions. "Seth, meet Matt, Nick, and Kenny; Matt, Nick, and Kenny, meet Seth."

Colby shook each of their hands in turn – squeezing Kenny's a little harder than the others'. "Nice to meet you," he said. It sounded more like a threat than a greeting.

Finally, Karl turned to Hannah. "And while I'm sure she needs no introduction, this is Hannah McMahon. Hannah, this is Kenny," he said, completely ignoring Matt and Nick. Hannah froze, all too aware of the seven pairs of eyes watching her – until Kenny mercifully said exactly what she was thinking.

"Wow, Karl, you couldn't possibly have made that more awkward."

"I try my best," Karl grinned, and with the ice sufficiently broken they all settled in and got down to catching up.

Hannah didn't say a word the entire time. Instead, every few minutes she'd catch Kenny looking at her. Or he'd catch her looking at him, back and forth until her face was completely flushed and she couldn't stand to be there a moment longer. So when Kenny got up to use the restroom, Hannah leaned into Colby.

"I'm ready to go. Meet me by the bathroom." With that she slipped out of her seat and rushed toward the back of the bar and into the restroom. She just needed to splash some cold water on her face and go back to her hotel room. Alone.

She dabbed her face dry with a paper towel and made sure her makeup wasn't running before turning to step back out into the bar. Hopefully Colby was already out there waiting—but when she opened the door she found herself face to face with Kenny, who'd emerged from the men's bathroom at the exact same moment.

They both stopped, unsure of what to do or say, like two middle school kids suddenly faced with the crush they'd only admired from afar. It made Hannah feel vulnerable and excited all at once.

Kenny was the first to make an attempt at conversation. "You okay? You look tired." He visibly cringed as soon as the words left his mouth, likely realizing that it would have been better to say literally anything else. Hannah smirked at his nervousness. It was cute.

"Yeah, it's just been a while since I've had sake," she returned. "I feel like I'm two minutes from completely crashing so I think I'm just gonna head out."

"Oh," he said. Had Hannah imagined it, or was that disappointment she heard in his voice? "Yeah, it definitely creeps up on you," he quickly added; but his eyes glanced over her shoulder. When Hannah felt a hand on the small of her back, she knew it was Colby.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Mhm," she mumbled. "It was nice to finally meet you," she offered with a glance back up at Kenny.

He nodded, his expression neutral. "You too," he returned, and with a wordless goodbye between the two men, Hannah and Colby left the bar.

When she arrived back at her hotel room, Hannah had a knot the size of a grapefruit in her stomach. She fell face-first on the bed and let out a muffled groan into her pillow. That hadn't at all been the way she'd imagined meeting Kenny Omega for the first time. It couldn't have gone worse, and she wouldn't be surprised if she never heard from him again.

But then her phone chimed. She fished it out of her purse and checked the notification. It was a Twitter DM. From Kenny.

Hannah unlocked her phone, her pulse quickening. Her blood rushed to her ears when she read his message.

 _Hey. I know we didn't really talk tonight, but I didn't realize you were with Seth. So if it makes you uncomfortable I can back off on BTE and stuff. And I'll tell Fergal to knock off his bullshit, too._

She read over the note a few more times, triple checking that it was actually from him. Once she was certain, she didn't waste any time typing up a reply.

 _I know, I'm sorry we didn't talk more. But you misunderstood. Seth and I are close, but we're not together. That being said, you can totally still tell Fergal to knock off his bullshit._

She hit the send button, and she didn't know whether she wanted to stare at the screen until he responded or throw her phone clear across the room. But before she could decide, he'd already replied.

 _Well in that case, would you like to get coffee tomorrow?_

Suddenly, the knot in Hannah's stomach fell away – and it was replaced with a flurry of butterflies. Her fingers flew over her phone's keyboard. _Yes_ , she replied, and added a smiley face for good measure.

The next afternoon, Hannah got a second chance at her first time meeting Kenny Omega—and it was perfect. He was funnier, sweeter, and more humble than she'd thought, and they spent hours talking about everything and nothing. The date—if that's what it was—only ended because Hannah had to get to Sumo Hall for the next Raw live show; but before she left, Kenny suggested they take a picture. But not just any picture—he wanted to take a picture exactly like the one Hannah had taken with Fergal the day before. Hannah agreed, and Kenny tweeted it out with the caption, "Hi FinnBalor."

If the fans had exploded before, they went absolutely nuclear when they saw that picture.

For the next couple weeks, there was nonstop speculation that Kenny and Hannah were an item; and for the next couple weeks, Hannah did talk with him nearly every day. But then it went from nearly every day to every three days, to only once a week, and eventually not at all. By the time September rolled around, Hannah had figured he'd lost interest, and she'd decided against traveling back to Japan for SmackDown's one-night-only event in Osaka.

At least she had until, one day off at home in Connecticut, she got a text from Kenny.

 _Please make my week and tell me you'll be at the Osaka show on the 16th._

Hannah read the message without unlocking her phone, stubbornly refusing to answer. Truthfully, she was conflicted as what to do; the text itself was enough to make her melt, but she was miffed that he hadn't said a word to her in weeks. So instead of figuring out how she felt, she went back to reading her book. But she'd barely finished a page before she couldn't keep herself from responding any longer.

 _Well hello to you too_ , was all she typed back. He wasn't getting off the hook _that_ easily.

Her phone chimed less than a minute later. _I know, I kind of disappeared and I'm sorry. It's not an excuse but I was busy with the G1 and dead tired for four weeks straight. Forgive me?_

Hannah turned up her nose at the text. She'd been aware that the G1 Climax, a month-long round-robin tournament held by NJPW every August, would dominate his time, but he was right—it wasn't an excuse. But before she could think up a response, another text came in.

 _Come to Osaka and let me make it up to you. Pretty please?_

Hannah bit her lip. As annoyed as she was, she didn't want to stop exploring whatever this was between them.

 _I suppose I can make time for it in my very busy, incredibly important schedule_ , she replied with a smirk. Kenny's response was near instant.

 _Thank you. I promise I'll make it worth your invaluable time ;)_

A knot formed at the base of Hannah's core. There were a lot of implications behind that winking emoji, and suddenly she needed a drink.

But her anticipation at seeing Kenny again didn't last long. As the Osaka trip drew closer, she grew more and more nervous about what might happen. She couldn't help but think that this relationship, or whatever it was, was doomed from the start. Kenny had a full-time career in Japan with WWE's biggest global rival; Hannah was WWE's Director of Talent Relations and _Vince McMahon's daughter_. It was almost like they were a modern day Romeo and Juliet – and everyone knew how that story ended.

As her anxiety over the situation worsened, Hannah had been ready to just call the trip off – but then AJ Styles, another one of Kenny's former Bullet Club brothers, had taken it upon himself to get involved. "I'm planning on meeting up with a few of the guys while we're there," he'd told her one night backstage at SmackDown. "You invite Kenny and we'll just all get together as a group. He's a good guy, Hannah. It'll be fine, I promise."

After some deliberation, Hannah agreed – but only after Nattie had promised to come along, too. And so here they were.

"Is your tea kettle settled?"

Hannah couldn't help but laugh as Nattie's reassuring voice brought her out of her reverie. She stood up straight, regaining her composure. "Yeah. Is my makeup okay?"

"You're literally the hottest person in Japan right now."

Hannah rolled her eyes at her grin. "You don't have to lie, Nattie. Come on, let's go." And with that, they walked off toward the restaurant where Kenny was waiting.


	3. What Happens In Osaka

_A/N: The second chapter is here! I'm sorry it took a bit longer than expected; I hit a tiny creative roadblock but once I pushed through it I couldn't stop writing and I really like the way this chapter turned out. It's nice and long for you guys, and it delves a bit into what's happened between "Steal the Show" and now. I think you can tell how Hannah's grown, but that's just my opinion :)_

 _Anyway THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed this fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please drop a review at the end; I really enjoy the feedback :)_

 **Chapter Two**

 _September 15, 2017  
_ _Osaka, Japan_

AJ says they're in the back," Nattie said as they entered the restaurant. Hannah nodded, barely registering her words. Her hands were clammy and her heart was racing, and her feet felt like they were moving forward of their own accord, like she was floating or having some weird out-of-body experience. But then her eyes landed on Kenny, and suddenly everything came crashing back together like a tsunami of emotion and physicality.

"There they are!" AJ announced when he spotted them. "About time. Did you stop at the cat café on the way, or something?"

"Um, if we had I would still be there," Nattie responded. "We're just fashionably late."

"But you missed the shots, though!" a man sitting across from AJ proclaimed. He had a caramel complexion and his dark, curly hair was pulled up into a bun on top of his head. Hannah had never met him before, but she knew exactly who he was: Tama Tonga, one of the original members of Bullet Club. Sitting next to him was his tag team partner and another original Bullet Club member, Bad Luck Fale.

And, of course, sitting next to AJ was Kenny.

"That's probably a good thing," Nattie returned. "Shots and I don't mix well, Hannah can tell you all about it."

"Sorry, where are my manners," AJ interrupted. "Nattie and Hannah, meet Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale, two of the pioneering members of Bullet Club. And this," he jabbed a thumb at Kenny, "is Kenny Omega, a.k.a. the bastard who kicked me out of Bullet Club. Although I think you two have already met, right Hannah?"

"Oh really, where'd you hear that?" Hannah sarcastically returned.

"I think I saw something about it on Twitter."

"Well you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet, AJ," Kenny interjected. "It's mostly bullshit." He sent Hannah a wink, and she felt her cheeks go hot. They hadn't seen each other in months—it was almost like they were meeting for the first time all over again, childlike nervousness and all.

"Well sit down!" Tama said. "We don't bite."

There were two open seats left at the table—and everyone knew the one next to Kenny was reserved for Hannah. He helped pull the chair out for her, and when she sat down their knees touched under the table. Neither of them bothered to move.

"Hey," he grinned. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Hey," she echoed with a smile. "Me too."

"Well, I think we need more drinks!" AJ proclaimed. They all ordered another round—Hannah made sure to stick to beer that night—and then another, and another, and soon enough everyone was talking and laughing like old friends. Reconnecting with Kenny was effortless; Hannah felt like she had known him far longer than just a few months. And if they only had tonight together, they'd better get some alone time—and soon.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Tama pointed an uncertain hand in Hannah's general direction. "You saw Devitt's debut match for NJPW _in person_ , and eight years later you _personally_ signed him to WWE?"

"I did," Hannah nonchalantly replied with a sip of her beer; but she nearly spit it back out when she saw the expression on Tama's face. He looked positively dumbfounded.

"How _the hell_ did that happen?"

"Man, haven't you been listening?" Fale asked. "She studied abroad here in college."

"I know that! But give me a timeline or something."

"Ok," Hannah started. "So I studied abroad at Keio University in Tokyo from March to July of 2006. It was my junior year so I was what—20 years old? But anyway, Fergal made his official NJPW debut on night one of the 2006 New Japan Cup on April 14 at Korakuen Hall. He lost to El Samurai. There were like 2,000 people in the audience and I was one of them."

Now _everyone_ looked dumbfounded. "You seriously remember all that?" AJ eventually asked.

"My mind is like a steel trap when it comes to useless wrestling knowledge. It's why I'm so good at my job," she smirked. "But yeah, I saw like four of five more of his matches while I was here, including his debut as The Pegasus Kid for Wrestle Land. Eight years later he turned up on WWE's radar, and I figured it was only fitting that I be the one to steal him away from you."

Tama shook his head. "Goddamn. That's crazy."

"So who did I wrestle in my NJPW debut, then?" Kenny challenged. But Hannah didn't hesitate.

"You and Kota Ibushi won a match against Gedo and Jado. By DQ, right?"

"What year?"

"Twenty-ten. January."

Kenny playfully narrowed his eyes at her. He was obviously impressed, but he obviously didn't quite believe that she'd just pulled that out of her head. "How do I know you didn't just look that up the other day, or something?"

"Well, I guess you can't. So you'll just have to trust me, I suppose."

He grinned back at her. "I suppose so," he echoed, and for a second Hannah forgot there was anyone else in the restaurant.

But then AJ cleared his throat. "Well, it's getting pretty late and Nattie and I have to work a show tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, we should probably head back to the hotel," Nattie enthusiastically agreed. "But Hannah, _you_ technically don't need to be at the show tomorrow, right?"

Hannah bit back an embarrassed smile; it wasn't hard to see what Nattie and AJ were doing. "No, _technically_ I don't."

"Well great!" AJ proclaimed. "So you and Kenny can hang out some more and you know, do whatever. Right, Tama?"

It took a second for Tama to get on the same page. "Oh, yeah! I mean you only have tonight, so you should definitely go hang out. Or you know, whatever."

Hannah's face turned bright red. Thankfully, just like the last time, Kenny came to the rescue. "And on that note, I think we absolutely should go. Do you wanna go?" he asked Hannah.

She nodded. "Yeah, I think we probably should."

"Perfect. We can pay our tab at the bar."

With that everyone gathered their things, paid their tabs, and after some awkward goodbyes and knowing parting smirks, Hannah suddenly found herself standing alone with Kenny outside the restaurant. And suddenly, while Hannah knew exactly what she wanted to do, she wasn't sure how to get there.

"Thank you for paying for my drinks, you didn't have to do that," she said, but Kenny shook his head.

"Please, you literally flew across the world because I asked you to. It's the least I could do."

She grinned up at him. "I did do that, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." He stepped closer, and Hannah stepped closer, too. "I don't think anyone's ever done anything that cool for me before."

"Well, you live in Tokyo and that's like six hours from here. So you traveled six hours just to see me for a night. That was pretty cool of you, too."

"Well, I took the bullet train so it was only three hours," he argued with a crooked smirk. "But I would've traveled six. And," he inched closer, "the night doesn't have to end if you don't want it to."

Hannah tilted her face up towards his. She was practically aching to kiss him. "I don't want it to," she breathed.

"Good. Me neither," he said, and when he pressed his lips against hers Hannah melted into him. All the silly references on "Being the Elite," all the months of subtle Twitter flirting, all the texting and uncertainty had somehow led to this very moment, and even though she had absolutely no idea where it would go from here, it was quite possibly the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her.

"I should have done that last time," Kenny said when they pulled apart—but Hannah had other things on her mind.

"Do you want to come back to the hotel?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he said, and they found a taxi as quickly as they could.

* * *

 _September 16, 2017  
_ _Osaka, Japan_

Hannah awoke to the soft glow of the morning sun peeking around the edge of the curtains and the warm feeling of Tyson's body against hers. She almost needed to pinch herself just to make sure she really was awake, because it still felt like a wonderful, crazy dream.

Tyson. That was his actual name, the one he'd told her to call him—and she'd said it quite a few times last night. They'd managed to restrain themselves on the taxi ride back to the hotel, and from the lobby to the elevator ride up to her floor; but as soon as they'd made it into her room, they hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other. Clothes and inhibitions were cast aside, and every touch, kiss, and caress felt better than the last. Hannah had never experienced such a primal sense of urgency as she had last night. Maybe it was because, in the back of both their minds, for all they knew that night could be the only one they got—so they'd made sure to make the most of it.

The bed shifted, and Hannah was enveloped in warmth as Tyson wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back against his chest. She smiled as her body molded with his; a pleasant shiver ran down her spine when he placed a kiss on her shoulder. No matter what happened when they left that room, there in that moment she was his.

"Morning," he said against her ear. She turned in his arms so she could see him; his dark curls were an absolute mess. It only made her want him more.

"Morning." Gently pushed a curl away from his brow, getting lost in his eyes already. They were such a gorgeous shade of blue.

"What?" he asked with a sleepy grin.

She smiled. "Your hair looks ridiculous."

He shifted again so that she was underneath him, her body pressed close to his. "Well, that's your fault for grabbing at it all night," he breathed, and when he pressed his lips against her neck she let out a satisfied moan. She arched her back against him as he traced his mouth over her skin, slowly torturing her with his touch. She needed him again—and judging by the increasing hardness pressing against her thigh, the feeling was mutual.

 _BANG BANG BANG_.

"Shit!" Hannah let out a startled yelp and Tyson abruptly ceased his ministrations at the unexpected banging on the hotel room door. Who the hell was interrupting them at such a crucial moment? But their surprise quickly turned to anger when they heard a familiar southern accent yell at them from the hall.

"Hey lover boy, I have your shit out here!"

"Is that AJ?" Hannah incredulously asked. Oh, she was going to _murder_ him.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Tyson muttered as he disentangled himself from Hannah. He pulled on his boxer briefs as he made for the door, and Hannah sat up against the pillows and pulled the comforter over herself with a heavy sigh. She'd probably be embarrassed if she weren't so annoyed.

"Seriously?" Tyson charged as soon as he opened the door. Hannah couldn't see them from where she was, but she could clearly hear the smirk in AJ's voice when he answered. He'd probably interrupted on purpose.

"Hey, I gave you a chance to come get your stuff on your own but you ignored my texts," AJ argued. "But I completely understand, I'm sure you were preoccupied. Hi, Hannah!" he called into the room.

She rolled her eyes with a frustrated huff. "Fuck off, AJ!" she called back.

"What she said," Tyson agreed, and Hannah heard him shut the door in AJ's face. But when he came back around the corner he was carrying a duffel bag.

She sent him a quizzical look as he dumped the bag on the floor. "Did AJ have your stuff?"

"Yeah," he answered, but didn't elaborate any further.

"Why?" Hannah pressed.

Tyson climbed back into bed, a crooked grin on his lips. It was sexy as hell—but Hannah had a feeling he was about to say something stupid. "Well, when I got here yesterday I didn't really want to book a hotel room… so AJ let me leave my bag in his room so I wouldn't have to lug it around."

Hannah felt herself start to blush. She didn't need to ask, but she did anyway. "And why didn't you want to book a hotel room?"

He smirked. "Because I hoped you'd invite me back to yours."

Hannah bit back an embarrassed smile. She'd flown across the world just to see him for a night—of course she'd invite him back to her hotel room. And Tyson damn well knew it.

"Was that too presumptuous of me?" he asked.

"Maybe a little," she teased. "I guess you'll just have to make it up to me."

"Oh yeah?" He pulled her back into him, their limbs intertwining once more. "I think I can do that."

His lips found her neck once more, and she entangled her fingers in his hair as he left a trail of kisses down her body—over her breasts, down her stomach and hips, into her inner thigh—

And then Hannah's cell phone alarm went off.

Tyson paused. "Is that your phone?"

"Yes," Hannah groaned. She reluctant scooted away from him and snatched the offending phone off the nightstand, silencing the alarm with a jab of her finger—and when she did she nearly jumped when she saw the time.

"Fuck, we only have 45 minutes 'til checkout," she sighed, and a knot formed at the base of her stomach. Suddenly the spell of this waking dream was broken, and Hannah realized just how little time she had left with Tyson.

But he didn't seem phased by it. "That's fine," he said in between soft kisses on her hip. "You don't have to be at the show tonight, right?"

"No."

"Well then let's finish this in the shower," he kissed her stomach, "and then we can go see what other trouble we can get into."

Hannah bit her lip. He was _so_ fucking sexy. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"So, have I made the trip worth your while yet?"

Hannah smirked at Tyson over a piping hot cup of green tea. They'd finally stopped to eat a late lunch after spending the entire afternoon acting like tourists. After checking out of the hotel—they'd had a _very_ difficult time getting out of the shower—they'd grabbed a bite to eat in nearby Dotonbori before heading out to explore Osaka Castle and the surrounding park; and Tyson, as Hannah expected, was a magnificent tour guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and respectful of the history and culture of Japan—clearly, it was his second home, and Hannah couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever consider moving back to North America.

But that was neither here nor there right now. Hannah was determined to enjoy the moment, and Tyson made it all too easy for her to forget about her impending red-eye flight back to New York.

"Yes, you have," she grinned. "Honestly I needed a getaway; I've been pretty worn out since the brand split." Hannah took another sip of her tea; that was a gross understatement. Her life had been a rollercoaster of chaotic highs and heartbreaking lows for far longer than since the brand split—almost two years, to be exact.

In November 2015, Colby had torn his ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus in his right knee during a house show in Dublin. It was an emotionally devastating injury—not just for Colby, who had been in the midst of his first run as WWE Champion, but also for Hannah. For nearly a year and half, Seth Rollins and Hannah McMahon had been the most nefarious, power-hungry couple WWE had seen since Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley—and Colby's injury had issued an abrupt and unceremonious end to their reign. But, more than that, the injury had also put on pause Hannah and Colby's confusing real-life relationship. After reluctantly relinquishing the WWE Championship, Colby had immediately retreated into himself, putting all his energy and focus into rehabbing his knee and returning to the ring. At first, Hannah had done everything she could to be an emotional support system for him; but then she found out he'd started dating some girl back home in Iowa, and so she relieved herself of those duties. Meanwhile, she'd also quietly disappeared from TV and returned entirely to her corporate role heading up WWE's Talent Relations Department. She'd only just gotten used to her new day-to-day when, seemingly out of the blue, the Prodigal Son returned to WWE.

When Hannah's older brother Shane had told her he was returning to the family business after nearly seven years away she'd thought he was joking. After all, he'd hardly left the company on good terms, and his relationship with their sister and brother-in-law was still more competitive than it was friendly. But Shane assured her he was serious, and Hannah was glad for it. While her working relationship with Paul was the best it had ever been, things with Stephanie had somehow gotten even more contentious—and Shane had never failed to have Hannah's back against their overbearing sister.

However, Shane's return had also unexpectedly left Hannah in no-man's land. Throughout early 2016, Shane and Stephanie had battled for control of Raw on TV, leaving many fans to wonder when and if Hannah would return to throw her hat in the ring, too. Hannah herself wondered if that would happen—but it never did. After Stephanie and Shane were named co-general managers of Raw following WrestleMania, Paul had suggested making Hannah the general manager of NXT. She loved the idea, and it certainly fit her character—but she didn't want to rob WWE's developmental talent of the sage, guiding influence of William Regal, and so she ultimately decided against it. With nothing else to do, she resigned herself back to Titan Tower—but then, right on time, Colby was cleared to return to action.

Seth and Hannah triumphantly returned together at Extreme Rules 2016, and they swiftly resumed their place as WWE's premier power couple. In fact, in the weeks leading up to SummerSlam, Hannah and Colby were more in-tune than they'd ever been before. The fans positively ate it up when the three former members of The Shield feuded over the WWE Championship. Following the brand split, Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the newly created WWE Universal Championship was a dream match not only for the WWE Universe, but for Hannah, as well. Even though Colby lost the match, Hannah could honestly say that that storyline was her favorite she'd ever participated in.

But after SummerSlam something shifted. The night after Rollins vs. Balor, Finn was forced to relinquish the championship he'd just won—he'd suffered a shoulder injury during the match. Out of fairness, a four-way elimination match was held between Seth, Big Cass, Kevin Owens, and Roman Reigns to determine the new champion—and again, Colby didn't win. For the next eight months he'd cycled through a slew of interchangeable opponents sicced on him by The Authority, culminating in a match against Triple H at WrestleMania 33. It was better than nothing, to be sure, but it wasn't what Colby wanted. He wanted to be champion, and to date he still hadn't gotten another shot at the Universal Championship.

Hannah had been frustrated by Colby's stalled progress, too; feuding with her brother-in-law was only so enjoyable. Thankfully, things were slowly but surely starting to pick up. At SummerSlam last month Colby had won the Raw Tag Team Championship with Dean Ambrose, and it seemed like a full-on reunion of The Shield was imminent. Sure, working with Jon again was a bit awkward—but getting the band back together just felt right.

But still—Hannah had desperately needed a break.

"I can imagine," Tyson said. "I don't know how you do everything you do."

Hannah felt a blush creep into her cheeks. "Please, you don't need to flatter me."

"No, I'm serious," Tyson earnestly returned. "I don't fawn over you on 'Being the Elite' just because I think you're cute and wanted you to notice me. I have a tremendous amount of respect for you and what you've done for the business, Hannah. Trust me—Fergal's told me all about it."

Hannah was definitely blushing now. She took another sip of her tea to hide it. "Thank you for that. Really," she said. "It's refreshing to have someone actually acknowledge my work. These days most people only seem to care about who I may or may not be sleeping with. Oh, I hope you're ready for the social media shit-storm that's headed your way, by the way." Hannah could only imagine what her Twitter feed looked like right now. As she expected, throughout the day several fans had recognized Tyson and asked for pictures and autographs. Hannah had done her best to stay out of frame, but it would only take one person claiming they _might_ have seen them together for the rumor mill to start swirling.

But Tyson didn't seem concerned about it. "Oh, I'm ready for it," he grinned; Hannah took another swig of her tea. "Trust me, people have been speculating about my personal life for years," he added. "I've learned to just tune it out."

"Well, when you're in a tag team called the Golden Lovers…" Hannah teased. It earned her a playful glare from Tyson.

"Yeah, well what about you, Miss McMahon?" he returned. "I legitimately thought you and Seth were together. At one point I even asked Fergal if you were because I didn't want to keep saying all that stuff on 'Being the Elite' if you had a boyfriend."

That surprised Hannah; Fergal had never mentioned that to her. "Really? What did he tell you?"

"He told me that everyone thought you were together but as far as he knew you weren't."

This time it was Tyson who took a sip of his drink. Hannah arched a brow. "Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?" she wondered aloud—but he shook his head.

"No," he clarified. He reached across the table and took her hand in his, running his thumb over the back of her palm. It was incredibly soothing. "I'm not jealous. But I am curious if I have any competition."

Butterflies erupted in Hannah's stomach. Did Tyson want this to be more than just an international fling? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind; it was way too soon to start hoping for that. More importantly, no matter what happened moving forward, honesty about her relationship with Colby was definitely the best policy. So she sat up straight, and told him the truth. "I don't need to tell you that Colby and I have chemistry," she started. "It's on display for the whole world to see every week on Raw. But I will tell you that while no, we are definitely not together and have _never_ hooked up, we have been dancing around crossing that line for a long time."

The butterflies all suddenly turned into petrified stones that dropped to the pit of Hannah's stomach. Now that she'd told him she was unbelievably anxious at how Tyson might react. His expression gave absolutely nothing away, but he did continue to rub his thumb over her hand. Hopefully that was a good sign.

Eventually, he asked another question. "So why haven't you crossed that line? If you don't mind me asking."

Hannah exhaled a breath. "Honestly? He's immature," she admitted. "At least when it comes to dating, he is. Colby is one of those people who can't be single, and he never is because there's no shortage of girls willing to try their hand at locking him down. So he'll entertain one girl for a while, call her his girlfriend and take her around the world just to drop her when it's convenient. There's also the fact that he cheated on his fiancée, which I'm sure I don't need to tell you." She stopped, realizing she was rambling a bit. "I don't know. I guess I could've just said that I've seen the way Colby treats being in a relationship and I don't really like it."

Tyson smirked. "That's valid. But something tells me he'd treat you differently than all those other girls."

Hannah arched her brow again. "Are you trying to lobby his case or yours?"

"Neither," he answered. "Like I said, I just wanted to know if I had any competition."

A smile broke out over Hannah's lips. "Well, if you do, you're currently in a breakaway lead."

Tyson's expression matched Hannah's. "Good."

They finished their lunch and spent the rest of the late afternoon and early evening touring the area, and as the sun set they headed back toward Dotonbori. That part of the city was known for its entertainment and restaurants, and Tyson insisted on taking Hannah to an old school video game arcade. He wiped the floor with her in everything they played, of course, but he made up for it by winning her a stuffed cartoon lion from the claw machine, which she'd sat proudly on the table at the restaurant where they had sushi for dinner and matcha ice cream for dessert. And, all too soon, it was time for Hannah to head to go.

They'd taken a cab together to the airport. They held hands as they moved through the terminal, walking as slowly as they possibly could, trying their best to extend their time together. But it wasn't long before Tyson couldn't go any further without a ticket. They stopped, their fingers still intertwined. Hannah didn't want to say goodbye.

"I'm really glad you came," Tyson eventually said.

Hannah smiled up at him. "Me too. Thank you for my lion," she said as she hugged the stuffed animal. "I'll cherish him always."

Wordlessly, Tyson gently took the lion from her and set it on top of her suitcase. He took both of her hands in his, drawing her close. His eyes were the color of the sky on a sunny day. "Hannah, I'm not gonna lie—I have no idea what's gonna happen from here. What I do know, though, is I have to see you again."

Hannah couldn't restrain herself this time; she grabbed the back of his neck and crashed her lips against his. Tyson wrapped his arms around her and nearly picked her up off her feet, pulling her body tight against his. They didn't stop kissing until they needed to come up for air, and when they did Hannah placed her lips against his ear.

"Well come see me, then," she whispered. Tyson could barely contain his groan of desire as he pulled her in for another searing kiss. By the time it ended, Hannah had half a mind to drag him into an empty bathroom somewhere. But that would be a guaranteed way to miss her flight.

"It's a date," Tyson assured. He kissed her again, short and sweet, and they slowly unwound from each other. "Call me when you get home," he said. "I don't care what time it is."

"I will," Hannah promised. "See you later, Tyson."

"See you later, Hannah," he echoed with a grin, and their fingertips fell away from each other as Hannah moved further into the airport and toward her gate, hugging the stuffed lion to her chest all the way.


	4. Good Brothers

_**A/N:** Hello, loves. If you follow StS, you're probably surprised that I'm updating this fic. But I've come to a pretty significant decision regarding my stories and their universes and I wanted to share it with you all sooner rather than later._

 _I've said it before and I'll say it again: in my mind, I personally haven't shipped Hannah with Dean in about three years now. It's unfortunate but true, it's likely the reason why I've lost some of my passion for StS, and it's definitely the reason why I started writing this fic. However, because StS is the older/longer/more established story, because I do still care about it, and because I know a lot of people love Hannah with Dean, it's forced me to make a decision about this fic and my fics in general._

 _In a nutshell, I've decided that this fic is going to exist in an alternate timeline wherein Hannah and Dean were never romantically involved. She still managed The Shield and all that, she just never got involved with Dean. The reason I felt I needed to establish that will become crystal clear when you read this chapter, but I also just didn't like the idea of Hannah getting involved with Seth after she'd been sleeping with Dean; it's trashy and screams Mary Sue. Also, this way the people who like Hannah/Dean still get their version of events, and the people who like Hannah/Seth (if there are any of you besides me) will get their version of events._

 _I hope that all makes sense. Anyway, I really like how this chapter turned out and I hope you do too. As always, reviews are much appreciated._

 **Chapter Three**

 _September 18, 2017  
_ _Monday Night Raw  
_ _San Jose, California_

Hannah was tired, Hannah was stressed, and the absolute last thing Hannah needed was an inquisition from her brother-in-law-slash-boss, Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

"Well, this certainly isn't the worst photo that's ever turned up of one of my employees," he remarked as he glanced at the grainy photo on his Twitter feed, "but how do you suggest we handle Hannah McMahon making out with Kenny Omega in the middle of a Japanese airport?"

Hannah couldn't help the wry laugh that escaped her lips; Paul was being a bit overdramatic about the whole situation. "Ignore it, just like every other photo 'scandal.' It'll be forgotten by tomorrow."

"Maybe," he consented with a nod. "But this is a little different than leaked nudes, Hannah. We could use this."

Hannah froze, coffee cup pressed to her lips. "Wait," she started, confused. "You're not upset about this?"

Now it was Paul who was confused. "What? Why the hell would I be upset about it?" he charged. "I don't give a shit who or what you do in your personal time so long as it doesn't reflect poorly on the company. And this," he pointed at the photo, "this is a golden opportunity to build a working relationship with NJPW."

"Oh my God." Hannah was in shock. When the fan-taken photo of her and Kenny kissing in the Osaka airport had surfaced and subsequently exploded online she'd expected to have a private tete-a-tete with Paul about it, but she hadn't in a million years expected _this_. "Are you serious right now?"

"Of course I am," he returned. "I'm not talking about turning this into some sort of storyline; this isn't the Attitude Era and my name isn't Vince. I'm just talking about putting a bug in Omega's ear."

"Oh my God," Hannah repeated. She pinched the bridge of her nose; she was _way too_ tired and stressed for this bullshit. "Okay, sure. I'll use my sexual wiles to manipulate Kenny into getting NJPW to work with us."

"Oh come on, it's not manipulation."

"Oh really? Well tell me another word for it, then."

Paul pressed his mouth into a thin, hard line, but he let the comment go. "I figured you would have already considered this yourself," he said. "For fuck's sake, you're the one who's been pushing me to negotiate with NJPW."

"You're right, I have been," she admitted. "But whatever's going on between Kenny and me has absolutely nothing to do with business. It's personal. And _private_."

That got Paul to back off. "Noted. Well, in other news, you're returning to TV with Rollins and Ambrose at No Mercy next week, so I suggest you confer with Colby about how you want to handle _that_ relationship."

Hannah's stomach dropped. Colby was the one person in the world she didn't want to face in the wake of the Osaka airport photo, and she didn't know what she was more afraid of: him caring about her and Tyson, or not caring at all.

* * *

"You have some serious explaining to do, Miss McMahon."

Hannah raked tired hands through her long, dark hair. "Ugh, I know," she breathed. Following her meeting with Paul she'd immediately retreated into her makeshift office at the arena, leaving only for food and the bathroom and doing her absolute best to avoid Colby at all costs. She'd have to talk to him eventually, but before she did she wanted to talk to Renee Young—if there was anyone here who could possibly clue her in about how Colby might be feeling about all this, it was her.

Renee made herself comfortable on the opposite end of the couch. "I mean, Nattie told me you were having dinner with Kenny in Japan, but I didn't know you'd have dessert, too."

"Renee!" Hannah laughed despite herself. "You're not helping."

"I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. But seriously; you have some explaining to do."

"What's there to explain?" Hannah returned. "I slept with Kenny Omega in Japan, a fan caught us kissing each other goodbye at the airport, and now everyone knows we've hooked up. There's not much more to it."

"Well, are you two like, _seeing_ each other now?" Renee probed.

"No! I mean, not really. We have tentative plans to get together again when he's in the States next month, but that's it." She sunk heavily back into the couch, frustrated and confused. Tyson had already told her that he'd be in the U.S. the second week of October for the joint NJPW/ROH Global Wars tour, but they hadn't made any definite plans yet; Hannah had to look at her schedule. More importantly, she had to figure out how she felt—and that included about Colby.

"Well, if that's it then that's it," Renee said with a shrug. "You'll get together again and see what happens from there."

"Yeah, I know," Hannah trailed off; an unspoken thought left hanging in the air.

"Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming?"

Hannah just spit it out. "Have you seen Colby at all today?"

Renee gave a nod, lips pursed. "Yes. Jon and I saw him in catering. And yes, Jon brought up the picture of you and Kenny because he's an idiot."

"Oh God." Hannah covered her face in her hands. _Of course_ Jon had brought it up. "What did he say?"

"He just asked if he'd seen it. And Colby said he had and 'good for Hannah.'"

"What?" Hannah's mouth gaped. " _Good for Hannah?_ What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know! 'Hey, Hannah got some, good for her'?"

Hannah was left gob-smacked; she didn't know what to say or think. She might have laughed if it weren't so awful. "Well did he seem bothered by it at all? Or did he not care at all?"

Renee's brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know. He was definitely trying to _act_ like he didn't care, but I feel like he _has_ to care a little bit. I mean, you two are meant for each other."

Hannah sent her a look. " _Renee._ "

"I'm serious! Everyone's been waiting for you two to get together for the last two years."

"And you know better than anyone why we haven't." It was true; thanks to their shared personal connections to The Shield both on and off-screen, Hannah and Renee had become friends by association, and over the years Renee had become Hannah's de facto confidant about the complicated nature of her relationship with Colby. However, Renee was also the biggest advocate for Hannah and Colby getting together for real, and she'd never miss an opportunity to proclaim how perfect they were for each other.

"You haven't because the timing never worked out," she argued. "But now you're finally both single and available and not injured and here."

Hannah let out a rueful laugh. "Yeah, and now there's also a picture of me making out with Kenny Omega that's being re-tweeted and shared thousands of times."

"So? You said it yourself: you won't see Kenny again for another month _if_ you see him at all. A lot could happen between now and then."

Hannah bit her lip; she couldn't argue with her there. But she also couldn't deny that there was _something_ between her and Tyson, something that she definitely wanted to explore, and something that rather complicated Renee's serendipitous opinion about her and Colby. "I'm gonna ask you something, and I need you to be serious," she started. "Why do you think Colby and I are meant for each other?"

"Because you're both obsessed with pro wrestling."

"Dude," Hannah sighed. "I said be serious."

"I am!" Renee proclaimed. "Look, I know the fact that Colby cheated on his fiancée makes you wary about getting involved with him, and I totally get that. But I'm also convinced that he cheated on her because she didn't care about wrestling, and for whatever reason he keeps dating girls that aren't within the world of wrestling or know anything about it, so eventually he becomes unsatisfied and bored and moves on to the next. But I really, truly believe that Colby needs to be with someone who's as passionate about this business as he is, and there is literally no one I know who loves pro wrestling more than you—my husband included."

Hannah blinked. "Goddamn, Renee. Did you practice that before coming in here?"

"No. It came straight from the heart. Because you and Colby belong together and fate doesn't need practice."

"Oh my God; okay, you can leave now."

Renee donned a satisfied smirk as she slipped back out the door, but Hannah felt like a stone had settled in her stomach. Between Paul's shady business proposition and Renee's pushy opinion, it was clearer than ever that Hannah just had to do what felt right to _her_ ; and that started with facing Colby.

* * *

Raw was more than halfway through, and Hannah still hadn't spoken to or even seen Colby. What was more, now the photo of her and Tyson wasn't just online fodder—it had been alluded to on the show.

The reference had occurred during a promo segment at the top of the 9 o'clock hour. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose and Sheamus and Cesaro had been trading verbal barbs in the ring when out came Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows; and after Gallows had told Rollins and Ambrose that they weren't "Good Brothers," he'd looked right at Seth and added: "Which is probably why your girl Hannah's been hanging with one of the real Good Brothers back in Japan, if you know what I mean."

Hannah had been watching the broadcast from the production area backstage when Gallows had said it, and she'd desperately wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. But even worse than her utter embarrassment was the fact that Colby hadn't appeared to react to the line at all; he'd simply stood there, hard-faced and completely unreadable.

Of course, the segment had lead straight into a triple threat tag team match, which had just ended with Sheamus stealing the pinfall victory from Ambrose over Anderson. Colby would return backstage through that Gorilla curtain any minute now—and Hannah didn't want to be there when he did.

She retreated from the production area and made a beeline for her office; but she was unexpectedly held up by one of the Talent Department assistants flagging her down. He seemed distressed, and said something about Neville wanting to talk to her, but she was only half-listening. She'd spotted Colby, and he was walking right toward them.

She silenced the assistant with a wave of her hand. "Okay, can we put a pin in this? I have other things I need to deal with right now." The assistant didn't look too pleased with that response, but he got the hint when he saw the tension in her brow. He left just as Colby arrived.

He slowed to a stop just in front of her. "Hey. Where have you been all night?"

Hannah shrugged. "Around. Things have been busy," she returned. "Good job out there. I think you got another match of the night."

Colby hefted his Raw Tag Team Championship over his shoulder. "Yeah, I like working Sheamus and Cesaro. It should be a fun match on Sunday."

They stood there in silence for a few seconds. Hannah rocked back and forth on her toes, a question burning on the tip of her tongue. It didn't take long for her to spit it out. "Did you know Gallows was gonna say that line about me?"

Colby's brow furrowed. "The line about you and Kenny Omega?" he deliberately asked. "No, I didn't know."

Hannah rolled her eyes with a huff. "I'm sure Paul put him up to it."

Colby nodded. "So how long have you been talking to Omega?"

Hannah went suddenly rigid, a deer in the headlights. Of all the questions he could have asked, she hadn't expected that one. "Um, off and on since June, I guess? When Raw did those two shows in Tokyo."

He nodded again. "I knew you'd hung out with him while we were there, but I hadn't realized you'd kept in touch."

Hannah bit her lip, unsure of what to say. His face was an imperceptible mask. Renee hadn't been kidding—she had absolutely no clue how he felt or didn't feel about her rendezvous with Tyson. And before she could press the issue further, he completely changed the subject.

"Are you going up to Oakland for SmackDown?"

"Oh, yeah," she nodded. "What about you?"

"I don't have another show 'til the 22nd, so I'm heading back home for a few days. Gonna check in on Black and Brave and catch up with some people."

"That'll be a nice little break," she awkwardly returned, and suddenly she wanted to be anywhere but there. "Well, I gotta go find Neville; apparently he wants to talk to me. But I'll see you at No Mercy on Sunday."

"Oh… yeah, okay," Colby returned, and Hannah booked it out of there before he could say another word. It had never _ever_ been that awkward and strained between her and Colby in the eight years that she'd known him, and at the moment she didn't care to figure out why—she just wanted to run from it.

* * *

Hannah was at a gas station somewhere between San Jose and Oakland when she received a text from Tyson.

 _Hey, gorgeous. How are you? I watched Raw hoping I'd see you but I was disappointed :(_

Her stomach fluttered as she typed out a response. If Tyson had watched the show, then he must have heard what Gallows had said. _Hey :) Yeah, they decided to save my return for the PPV on Sunday. But how'd you like that little shout-out your boy Gallows gave you?_

It wasn't long before her phone chimed again. _Oh, as soon as he said it I sent him a text calling him an asshole. No response yet, though._

Hannah laughed to herself; at least Tyson was taking it in stride. But before she could reply, another text came in.

 _I assume you didn't have anything to do with that?_

 _Hell no_ , she immediately returned. _I'm 99% sure Paul told him to say it just to fuck with me._

 _Sounds about right_ , Tyson returned after a moment. _But I don't give a shit. I thought it was pretty funny, actually._

Hannah laughed lightly to herself; it _had_ been a pretty good line, she had to admit.

Her phone chirped again. _Anyway, what're you up to right now. Are you traveling?_

 _Yeah, I'm headed to Oakland right now_ , she returned. _Why?_

 _Well, I have a little bit of free time so I wondering if you wanted to jump on Skype for bit._

Her stomach fluttered again. A video chat with Tyson sounded like just what the doctor ordered. _Yeah, I'd like that :) I'm about 20 minutes from the hotel right now, so can I call you once I get there?_

 _Sounds perfect_ , he returned, and Hannah peeled out of the gas station and back onto the highway as fast as she could.

She made it to the hotel in 17 minutes. Five minutes after that, she was in her room and calling Tyson. He answered almost immediately.

"Hey," he smiled; the sight of it made Hannah's heart skip a bit. "So you told me 20 minutes, but it's been about 26."

"I had to check in!" she argued with a grin. "I'll have you know I actually made it here in _17_ minutes."

"Oh really? That eager to see me, huh?"

Hannah glanced bashfully away from his smirk. "I'm not answering that. Your ego's big enough as it is."

"Uh huh," he teased. "Isn't it almost 1 a.m. there?"

"Yeah, but I'm not really tired. What time is it there?"

"About 5:45 p.m. Tokyo's 17 hours ahead of California. Matt and Nick live there so I'm pretty used to having to work around the time difference."

"God, well I'm glad I'm in California and not Connecticut, then. The difference would be even bigger."

He smiled again. Hannah could look at it all night. "Well, I know you said you're not tired but I don't want to keep you up too late. But I do want to figure out next month, because I meant it when I said I wanted to see you again."

Hannah's smile nearly split her face in two. "I want to see you again, too. What are the dates you'll be here, again?"

Tyson drew in a thoughtful breath as he tried to remember. "I'm flying into Buffalo late on October 10th, and there's a show there on the 12th. Then from there there're shows in Pittsburgh, Ohio, and Illinois, and I fly back to Tokyo on the 16th."

Hannah had pulled up her schedule while he was talking, unsure what she had coming up in the next month or if they'd be able to work something out. But, as it turned out, her calendar was wide open from October 10th to the 15th. "Well, you're in luck," she said. "I have Hell in a Cell in Detroit on October 8th and Raw in Indianapolis on the 9th, but after that I don't have anywhere I need to be until the 16th."

"Well then I guess you'll just have to come see me."

She bit her lip when she heard the husk in his voice. "I guess so."

"Can you get to Buffalo on the 11th?"

"I can get to Buffalo on the _10th_ ," Hannah smirked. It elicited another 1,000-watt smile from Tyson.

"Well then meet me in Buffalo on the 10th, and we'll figure it out from there."

Hannah's stomach did another flip. Forget Paul, forget Renee, forget whatever was going on between her and Colby; right here and right now, this was exactly what she wanted. "It's a date."


	5. Author Thoughts

Hello, everyone. It's been a while. I've been thinking about this fic quite a bit (as well as Steal the Show) given the advent of AEW, the return of Jon Moxley, and the new rivalry between him and Kenny Omega. It's almost like the universe wanted me to write more wrestling fics so it pitted the two guys I ship Hannah with against each other in real life XD. Speaking of people I ship Hannah with - I've decided to put the kibosh on any romantic notions between her and Seth. All my fabulous readers of StS loved them so much as BFFs, and I do too; anything romantic between them would just be too much (plus I adore him and Becky as a couple so there's that).

All that being said, this means that this fic will at the very least have to be rewritten, but chances are I'll just post a new story altogether. I would like to return to my roots somewhat and move forward with some sort of Jon Moxley and/or Kenny Omega fic that still utilizes Hannah as the OC AND recognizes her history with Jon in StS; but I'm not quite sure how to tackle it or where to start. Perhaps start from AEW Double or Nothing? If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please don't hesitate to throw them my way. I'm open to any and all ideas. Also, if there's anyone out there who wants to co-write a new story with me, I'm totally open to that, too. Maybe if I had a co-author I'd actually finish something for once XD

Anyway, I thank everyone who's stuck with me the past 6 years. Hopefully there's more good writing to come.

\- Katie


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